Sellers targeted further margin improvement in May, and decreases as low as €20/tonne were heard in a few cases.

Buyers said producers had already achieved margin improvement in 2013, and they had resisted giving much more. Ethylene pass-through decreases of €50/tonne were heard in a few cases.

One producer said it had insisted on decreases no higher than €30/tonne. A buyer said it had achieved decreases of €40-45/tonne as producers had taken the volumes they needed to move into account, not just price, when negotiating contracts.

Demand was said to have improved from April. A second producer said that improved demand might allow sellers to achieve greater margin improvement in June if the monthly ethylene contract did not move by much.